Review of Realtor® Doug Francis of Northern Virginia

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Where to start in the home-buying process?

This year my fiance and I made the decision to purchase our first home through Realtor® Doug Francis of Vienna, VA. Initially, we didn’t know where to start in choosing a real estate agent, so we turned to a trusted friend of ours whom recently went through the house hunting process himself. He mentioned he had used Doug for his search and had nothing but great things to say; even mentioned how technologically savvy Doug is! Naturally, with our investigative instincts, we began our research at dougfrancis.com. We instantly knew that if this is a man who is willing to provide both buyers and sellers with an abundance of trusted online resources, then he must work even harder as an agent. From there, we made the initial contact.

The first meeting

Doug began our conversation by greeting us in a friendly manner and proceeded to define the role that he plays in our house search. From there he asked us our needs and wants in a home. We conveyed to him our wish-list as well as our desire to have a family, so that he’d have a clear idea of what type of home we wanted… it was comforting knowing that he seemed to know the right questions to ask. His ~20 years of industry experience certainly made us feel confident that we indeed made the right choice. He even recommended a fantastic lender to us in his network, so that we could secure financing. After all, he advises any home buyer to be as competitive as possible! (Take note: great advice…)

Looking at homes

Over the next several months, Doug took us around to dozens of houses in the Northern Virginia area. In each house he would point out the things to watch out for and the things to be appreciative of… a trait that is especially unique to Doug’s professionalism as a seasoned one-of-a-kind real estate agent. When spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home, we definitely didn’t want the truth sugarcoated, so it made it reassuring to know that Doug would be honest with us. It wasn’t all business. Every now and then, we’d have laughs over my disappointment at the lack of HGTV cameras in the houses we were looking at (buying a house is not like they show it on TV, by the way). He made the whole process fun, enjoyable, and headache-free. Of course, many people, including us, dread the paperwork side of home buying, but it was relatively painless. If we weren’t too sure of what the fine print meant, he thoroughly broke it down for us, thus allowing us to make a choice that was wise for us.

Bottom line?

You won’t be disappointed. Doug goes above and beyond what is asked for in his line of work. He is passionate, personable and listens well. He is meticulous with his research and delivers results — all his picks for us lined up with our budget, wish-list, and location. When paperwork or correspondence came our way from the seller’s agent, he was there to act as a liaison on our behalf right away. We didn’t feel alone in this process, and we have Doug to thank. If you are considering using Doug Francis as your buyer/seller agent, we highly recommend using him. Oh and us? He found us a beautiful home that we will love for years to come.

He has a Web site at www.dougfrancis.com. He provides you with first timer advice, do’s and don’ts, and handy links to the MLS searches.

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6 Responses to “Review of Realtor® Doug Francis of Northern Virginia”

Wow, thanks Kristin. There was an HGTV moment when Chris said, “I can’t believe you found this place without GPS!”

But remember, unlike an episode of House Hunters, things did not always go smoothly and there were some big hurdles which we had to overcome such as getting out-bid, having a low appraisal, and a job change kept me on my toes helping you guys.

Wait a minute, that sounds just like TV drama but without the HGTV cameras. Enjoy your house!

@Doug Francis Even though we had those hurdles, I think they were for the best (I’m sure you hear that a lot). Especially getting outbid on the other house we saw. Although it had perks (end unit, entrance on the ground level in both the front and back), we’re glad we ended up with the one we have now. The previous owner did many essential upgrades to the property, which makes us thankful that we don’t have to invest in that kind of stuff now! Of course, having awesome neighbors makes it a bonus.

My brother Tommy mentioned we have purchased two homes with Doug’s fantastic guidance. But neither home was an “easy” purchase. The owners of the first home where making numerous trips to California and wouldn’t return calls, offers, etc. Doug was persistent and got them to commit all the while calming me down as I was frantic we would lose the house. The second purchase was a foreclosure with the bank, also located in California, (hey, there seems to be a trend here!) and they also failed to respond for WEEKS! I was so thrilled they accepted the offer I never looked at the contract closer. I have Doug to thank for noticing in the fine print that the bank handling the foreclosure moved the closing date up to 2 weeks and we had less than 30 days to get all our financing in order and rent our house! Yikes! Once again, Doug got us through the nightmare of getting all our ducks in a row, finance, renters, etc. Doug was so crucial in getting us (including our four children and ailing Mom) safely into our current home. He’s invaluable in the buying/selling process.